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Hi everyone!
Oh, how I have missed writing and sharing my energy in this space. For the last month, I have been settling into the new transition(s) taking place in my life and I am really enjoying all that is coming forward. I went up to my hometown, Toledo, Ohio to take a yoga teacher training. I got cracked wide open during the training and had several breakthroughs. I took the time to explore different parts of my hometown that I never knew existed, connect with family and friends, do yoga, teach yoga and most importantly, I was able to explore myself; I got real curious about pieces within myself that I never noticed before. I perfected yoga poses on my mat and I strengthened the practice of loving myself. I learned how to step away from the inner critic and tune into my girl, the inner teacher.
A few times during the training, I caught myself thinking…thoughts like, “what’s going to happen next in my life?” were typical with accompanied with anxiety. My mind is always trying to take me out of the present moment and into one that isn’t here yet. So, I started to notice when that would happen, let it go and come back to the present moment. Because, when I am in a moment that isn’t here, my inner critic lights up and I buy into all these crazy ideas, which never seem to serve me. So, I started to just observe the difference between my inner critic and my inner teacher. The sound of their voices and the vibration that they carry, are quite different. The inner critic is always louder and the first to chime in. My inner goddess is always the quieter one, sitting back, certain and calm, always encouraging me and saying, “You’re doing great, keep going,” or “Relax, breathe and go with the flow.” I like how it feels to listen to my inner girl, the goddess, so I do that more today than ever. And, when life comes, I don’t seem to waver as much as I used to. I breathe deeper, just as I would on my mat in a challenging pose and I love myself through it.

I did create something fantastic while I was in Ohio. I have been all about lavender lately, so I made some gluten free vegan lavender bread!

To prepare:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together the flax seed and water in a small bowl and set aside to let it gel up. Crush up the lavender, then add it to a pan with the almond milk and heat to just before boiling. Then, in a medium size bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (flour through nutmeg). Mix the blueberries in with the dry ingredients a little to coat them. In another bowl, mix together the other ingredients, including the lavender, almond milk and flax seed and water combination. Finally, mix together all the ingredients. Spray the bread pan or muffin tins with a cooking spray and then pour the batter in and place it in the oven to bake for about 45 minutes, give or take. After baking, remove from oven, and let cool. Serve, share and enjoy!

Hi everyone! Happy July! How did you celebrate freedom?! On July 4th, I showed up to one of the sweatiest yoga classes yet. 47 of us yogis soaked up the beauty and magic that freedom gave us on our mats, in our minds and within our hearts. So sweet!

Then I spent the rest of my holiday weekend playing, playing and more playing! I was able to connect with past friends, present friends and friends-that-I-didn’t-know-existed-friends! I have this new space that the Universe has carved out for me and I have been filling it with the most beautiful of all things; meditation, crafts, music, adventures, yoga, new things I didn’t know I liked, the sunshine, the ocean, more yoga, kids, animals, art, photography, good food, play dates, yoga, conversations that never end with people that I know down to their soul level, windy conversations with people that I have never seen a day in my life, writing, groovy clothes, reading, vegan cooking, being weird, energy stones, healing, relaxing, acroyoga, celebrating, singing, dancing, girls nights, girls days, girls in general, funky coffee shops, desserts, laughing, swimming, crying, yoga, connecting and loving. I believe that I have stepped into this new shade of me and I am digging it completely!

To prepare:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Prepare the flaxseed egg by mixing together 3 tablespoons of flaxseed and 7 tablespoons of water…maybe a little more. You want the flaxseed to gel up with the water. Then, in a medium sized bowl mash up the bananas well with a fork. After your mashing sesh, add all of the other ingredients and mix together well. You do not want the batter to be too too thick, so I added a couple splashes of almond milk to balance out the consistency. Place the muffin wrappers in the muffin tin and begin to spoon muffin batter into each of the wrappers in the tin. Do not fill too high because they will rise some. Place in the oven for 15-30 minutes. Each time I make these, they seem to vary… So just keep an eye on them. The tops will turn a little golden brown and the smell will be perfect. Maybe, right before taking them out of the oven stick a toothpick or fork in the center to check…but I have confidence that you will use your awesome judgement. Share with friends and enjoy!

I also have another little smoothie recipe I wanted to share with you. I was so pumped to make this smoothie because I had been dreaming about it for days before it appeared…

Mother Earth Smoothie

You will need:
1 banana
Handful of kale
Mango (I like to use the frozen cubes)
1/2-1 whole fresh lemon juice
Handful of fresh mint leaves
Sprinkles of cayenne pepper
Sprinkles of cinnamon
Slice of fresh ginger, optional
Water

To prepare:
Mix all the ingredients together in a blender and blend until completely combined and you have created a fantastic color of green. Enjoy!

Hi everyone!
Just before I started writing today’s post I was practicing my handstands. My handstand practice has evolved so much. It started as something so rigid, scary and awkward…but, I have watched myself physically and mentally move past the ledge of fear, loosen up the reins, let go and begin to float. And floating is how I wish to feel at all times. When I’m floating through life, there is no pressure, emptiness, or stagnant energy… only lightness that I radiate from the inside out. It is my natural state. Floating has scared me for a long time; maybe, because I thought that once I got up into the air I would continue to float away and away until gone or that I would just fall to the earth and crumble into pieces that could not be put back together. I have been able to practice this trust in the Universe quite a bit during this transition in my life with a long term relationship ending and detaching from two dogs that I loved oh, so much. And, even though it has been scary to let go, make decisions to move forward through sticky emotions and let others love me through it…I have done it. I respect the Universe’s decision to clear the space away for something new to settle in my life. I move through this and I give myself the permission to float.

I have felt kind of cheesy this past week, so, I have two recipes today that are incredibly cheesy for you. Both gluten free, both vegan and both tasty as hell.

Cashew Mac & Cheese

You will need:
1 box of gluten free noodles
1 cup cashews
1 tablespoon earth balance butter (or more if you prefer)
Water, for consistency (I think I used 1/4-1/2 cup)
Lemon juice from 1 lemon
A few splashes of almond milk
3-4 tablespoons of nutritional yeast
Salt, to taste
Cayenne pepper, to taste (I did a few sprinkles)
Rosemary or thyme, to taste

To prepare:
Boil your noodles as directed. While noodles are boiling you can prepare the cheese sauce. Begin by blending the ingredients one by one in a food processor. Add the cashews first with the lemon juice and a little water. Then add the nutritional yeast, earth balance butter and the spices. To level out the consistency, add water slowly, along with the splash of almond milk tossed in there. It should turn out to be a creamy mixture that will massage nicely into the noodles when finished. Taste tests are welcome! When the noodles are finished, gently mix together the cheese sauce and noodles. Serve it up and enjoy!

Next recipe is so simple and brigs me right back to childhood. I had been craving a grilled cheese and decided it was time to make a vegan and gluten free version.

To Prepare:
Butter the outside slices of the bread. Place one slice, buttered side down, in a small pan. Add your cheese slices and then add the second piece of bread, buttered side facing out. Start to brown the outside of the one side on a medium heat and then flip over the sammy to brown the other side. The cheese should melt as well. When both sides are browned, remove from heat, cut the grilled cheese in half, serve and enjoy!

Hi everyone!
Ahhh, it feels good to be writing. I have been bouncing around and around trying to keep up with all of these groovy shifts taking place in my life.
I graduated this past weekend! Woohoo! The last couple of weeks have been filled with life celebrations, family time, selfies with girlfriends, catching up with old friends and planning for the future!

As I have mentioned before in previous blog posts, the girl that moved down to Florida seven years ago is very different from the girl that waltzed across the stage to receive her diploma last Friday morning. Seven years ago, I made the best decision of my life and the first decision towards loving myself. Funny thing is, I didn’t even know it then. What I did know is that I needed help with getting out of the hell hole that I dug and so I transplanted from Ohio to treatment in Florida and never looked back. Almost three years into my recovery, I decided to give school another try. I was terrified. Up in Ohio, I went to two different universities in a year and a half, and for the first time ever, I drove my GPA straight into the ground. I had to drop out because of the unmanageability that drugs and alcohol had created in my life. I remember walking back onto a campus and not knowing what I wanted to do, how I was going to do it and if I would be successful. All of these questions were answered beautifully along the way. Every time I felt discouraged or scared, there was an advisor coaching me along, funds coming through at the right time for tuition, friends loaning me their books for studying, new acquaintances meeting for coffee to chat, my boss giving me the flexibility that I needed for classes, professors teaching me and rooting me on, the sweet and subtle voice of the Universe guiding me through and family members loving me the entire time. Every single time. Every single semester. I went from a broken soul-1 point something GPA- hopeless state of mind drug addict to a groovy-recovery thumpin’-yoga teachin’-light spreadin’-plant based eatin’ summa cum laude honors graduate! Blows my mind! All miracles, all love based! It’s funky to look back at my life and think that I have lived two lives in one lifetime. So, for all of you incredible people in my life that have been apart of this journey and have believed in me until I could believe in myself, you know who you are…thank you and I love you!

What’s next, you ask!? Pure sweetness! I have been accepted into my school’s advanced standing masters program, which I will begin this fall 2014. This summer will be full of spreading yoga to the little yogis and getting my 200 RYT on to teach the big yogis! Keepin’ the light flowing! And, the fear still creeps in for these exciting upcoming things… Especially, questions like, “How will I pay for it all?” or “Will I be good enough?” These little thoughts can paralyze me,and lately, I have been noticing them and simply responding to myself with this beautiful Gabby Bernstein quote:

Incredible, right? I can do anything. The power lies in my thoughts and this is confirmed more and more everyday.

To Prepare:
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the ground flax seed with the water. Let that sit for a bit and gel up. In a food processor, pulse the carrots until they are a grated consistency. In the medium bowl flour, add in the grated carrots, coconut oil, brown sugar, vanilla and the flaxseed and mix until combined. Place the mixture in the refrigerator for a few minutes. Preheat the oven to 375° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Remove the mixture from the refrigerator and add in the gluten-free oats and the chocolate chips. Mix until combined. Then, using a tablespoon, scoop batter into balls and place on the cookie sheet at least a few inches apart from one another. Place in the oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes until golden brown and the edges become slightly crisp. Enjoy!

Here’s a quote that my beautiful yoga teacher shared at the end of a class a couple weeks ago. Tears were rolling down my cheeks as she read it. Have a great week!

Hi everyone!
My days are filled with people and situations that provide me with opportunities; opportunities to choose love and happiness or to choose fear and unhappiness. I must remind myself that I have these choices and that they both cannot live in the same space. I am either choosing love or fear…and let me tell you, love always trumps! Love is the miracle-maker and it always gives me exactly what I need. Love opens doors, unlocks the miracles, frees my heart and creates an unlimited amount of space within me to extend out to others. Fear shuts down, puts down, paralyzes and constricts any energy from flowing.
So, how do we integrate a more loving conversation in life? It begins with creating the space in our thoughts. People and situations show up as divine assignments to show me how to heal, learn and let go. My most challenging assignments show up in my relationship with my boyfriend. We attracted one another to heal, love and enjoy one another. One of my biggest lessons with him have been learning how to tap into my inner goddess for self acceptance and love, and not relying on him for those things. Past experiences that he triggers in the present challenge me in these areas. Some days, I am on point and others, the best I can do is have a meltdown. We all get into relationships with our own past experiences that have turned into conversations within the thoughts that run through our heads presently.The thing is, that conversation that was generated from the past, is in the past, there fore, it does not have to be real now in the present moment. It is our job to recognize those conversations as not real anymore and create the space for what is so that love can radiate through us.

Here are some simple steps that I have been using in my interactions to get myself out of my past conversations that replay in my head and into what’s real in the present moment.

1: Notice. Any behavior change always starts with noticing the behavior first. Nothing can change if you are not aware that it is occurring, right? If I am unable to notice, then I am screwed because chances are I may just be reacting out of ego, and usually these snap reactions are fearbased and imbedded from th past. So, I begin created new neural pathways in my brain by keeping it simple and noticing. Sometimes, I write about what I see myself doing. I notice what is happening around and within me when I feel like I am being triggered. I notice the conversation that is taking place in my head. Is it love or fear-based? If this conversation makes me feel good, it is probably love, but if I start to squirm, it is most likely fear driving them and after the thoughts start rolling in, then the unproductive behavior follows. So, start noticing the thoughts before th behaviors have a chance to rise. And just like anything, this is a practice. Some days, I am extremely aware and I can pause and stay still and allow the untrue thoughts to dissolve. Other days, when I am more sensitive, I will just bypass any noticing and have a knee-jerk reaction, which usually ends up with me in some kind of upset. Whether I roll through a temper tantrum or not, eventually I always get back to noticing my thoughts again. It is important to be gentle with yourself and love yourself through these experiences like you would a best friend!2: Decide. After I notice what is happening within my thoughts, then I make a decision. I decide whether the conversation in my head is real or not real based off of the situation I am in where I feel triggered. Again, fear makes us act in funky ways. So, if I perceive something as fearful based on my past experiences and I notice myself starting to feel uncomfortable, then I can probably make the assumption that I am operating from ego. I decide if the story I am telling myself is a reenactment of the past or not; real or make-believe. The ego loves to play with the make-believe because we stay stuck here; we search but never seem to find what we are looking for. It can be tricky to see past the ego, so I coach myself through it by giving myself little affirmations such as, “I can see peace instead of this, “What would it look like to let this go?” or “Thank you, Universe, for showing me how to see this differently.” A Course in Miracles says, “When ancient memories of hate appear, remember that their cause is gone,” therefore, it is up to me to forgive the past experiences that are showing up because they are showing up as an opportunity to create space for love by releasing them.

Now, for a yummy pizza recipe to wrap this up! Today, I have one of my vegan, gluten free, quinoa crust pizzas! So simple and delicious!

To Prepare:
Set the oven to 450 degrees. Spread the tablespoon of coconut or olive oil in a 9-inch round cake pan. In a food processor mix all of the ingredients, except the toppings, together to create your pizza crust. Then, pour the mixture into the oil coated cake pan and place the pan in the oven for about 15-20 minutes. Then, remove the pan, flip the crust over, and bake for another 10-15 minutes. Crust should be brown and crispy on the edges. Remove crust and let cool. Prepare the veggies/toppings but cutting up the cucumber and shredding the carrots. When crust seems cool enough, spread the hummus all over the pizza, first. Then sprinkle on the arugula and cover with cucumber and them the shredded carrots last. Cut up into pizza slices and enjoy! I sure did!

Hey everybody!
I wanted to do a post about friends. It makes me think of the quote, “I get by with a little help from my friends,” by The Beatles. It is the truth for me. The love that I receive from my friends and people around me is endless and perfect! Especially, my lady friends!

They are there for my moments that I laugh, cry, scream, throw a temper tantrum and celebrate and I honor each and every one of them. Some are near and some are far away. Some were in my life for a short while and some have been in my life always. Some I work, play, meditate or do yoga with. Either way, I am never alone and it is important for me to know this and feel the love from others. And the love is received as well as given away by me. When I am connecting with my girls, I am beaming inside and out. They help me raise my own vibration, as well as the world’s vibration when we are connecting!

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When life gets funky and my ego steps in the way of my happiness and throws me off, one of the best remedies for me has been to call one of my lady loves and let her pull me out of the ego’s arms. I call one of them and talk it out over the phone or through a text, or we meet up an have a playdate. My ego loves nothing more than to make me feel like I am alone. When I bring my energy into a place of love that it shared with another, it has no choice but to rise up and expand. When I go where the love is, I am fulfilling my function of happiness in this world; I am stepping into the light within myself that is always lit no matter what my ego tells me. So, to all of my lady friends out there, I love you all and I honor every one of you.

One of the best activities I love doing with my girlfriends is making good food and enjoying it together. I love dinner parties… And breakfast, lunch and dessert parties! So, for today’s post, I have two recipes for you and I am going with the green theme, given that this was a green month for St. Patty’s Day!

To prepare:
Mix everything together in a blender. Taste to make sure you have enough cayenne pepper. I really enjoy this smoothie because I taste all of the ingredients and then there is the kick from the cayenne in the end. It is delightful and will open your heart right up!

To prepare:
Steam the edamame. Once steamed, add the edamame to a food processor and pulse until the edamame is all chopped up. Add the avocado and the other ingredients and mix together well in the food processor. Taste testing is welcomed to see if you need more of one ingredient or not. Toast the slices of bread. Spread the edamame mixture on each slice. De-stem the kale and slip it in between the edamame mixture. Cut the sandwich in half and enjoy!

Hi everyone!
I will start off by saying that this week has been a little all over the place. It has gone up and down and upside-down more than once, and I am still belted in this roller coaster car, while occasionally putting my hands up in the air and letting out a huge scream! I must look at it in this light because when I can make stories out of my life, especially the sensitive and uncomfortable moments, then I can relax and move into acceptance about them, and ultimately, teach others to do the same.
My life has been full of miracles and miracles in disguise. Or, in other words, blessings and blessings in disguise. The miracles in disguise are tricky, though. Their disguises are so genius that I have a hard time identifying them as miracles because I am feeling feelings that really freak me out. And when I feel feelings that do this, I automatically want out and I react. I will give myself credit, I am much much better than I used to be at pausing when the uncomfortablilty arises because of the awareness and space that I have created, but, some feelings can feel really gross and my first thought is “get out!” when they show up. The thing is, when I get out or react too quickly, I miss what is really happening. Usually, I am so focused on the one star in the sky, that I miss all the others that are shining all around it, you know? There is something much bigger than me orchestrating things here and there is a natural order to things that is quite beautiful.
I have talked about my black present analogy before and I will again because I have been speaking about to to people all week and it rings true for me right now more than ever. The Universe gives me these gifts in life… Just like the miracles and the miracles in disguise… I will receive these gifts wrapped in all different packaging; some gifts come to me sprinkled with glitter, some are in bags with colorful tissue paper exploding out of them, some are bedazzled with ribbons and bows… I love those gifts! Bring em on! Then, some gifts come to me in black wrapping paper…with scorpions and snakes slithering all over and the most uninviting aura surrounding them …those I am quick to toss to the side. Who wants to see what’s inside of that package, right? Yeah, but if I pause with that black package, sit with it for a moment and wait for the scorpions and snakes to crawl away and the aura to settle, then I can slowly start to unwrap the black wrapping to see what’s inside. When I do this, I always find a beautiful lesson of love.
So, right now, in my life, I am sitting with my “black package.” It was delivered to me over the weekend, and I quickly discarded it as fast as I could. I felt the package calling me back, though… So, I went to my recycling bin (ha!), and grabbed the package back up. Are ya still with me here? 🙂 …The snakes and scorpions have crawled away, thankfully, and it is not as intimidating; there is even a sense of peace about the black package and my energy. I have begun to peel off the black paper, slowly, one piece at a time, because that is all I can handle, but I feel so loved and supported through it all by the Universe and Spirit. It is a beautiful process and I never thought I would I could admit that. I am anxious, but excited to see what kind of miracle lives inside.

This week’s recipes are incredibly simple and deliscious! They are both vegan and gluten free spreads for toast, bagel or English muffin. I think they make great snacks, desserts or breakfast treat.

Peach Butter
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You will need:
2 peaches

To prepare:
Peel the peaches and then cut up the pea he into pieces. Place the pieces into a food processor and blend until smooth. Then add the peach yumminess into a pot and heat on medium until it starts to boil. Turn the heat down and simmer, stirring occasionally for a couple minutes. The peaches will thicken. Spread on some toast and sprinkle with cinnamon and viola!

To prepare:
Steam the cup of carrots until soft. Add the carrots to food processor and purée. You could also mash the carrots in a bowl with a fork. Then add the other ingredients and mix together. Then, spread on some toast or whatever you prefer and maybe sprinkle some hemp seeds on top. Enjoy!

Hey everyone!
This week has been about stepping into the light of love and creating space by tapping into forgiveness. I have been a student of A Course in Miracles since January 1, 2014 and I have been learning about what it is that I am here to do while living in this world; I am here to be happy, spread love and be a source of light for others! This calling rings true to every cell in my body, especially, when I am fulfilling it, however, as much as I would like to be in this space at all times, I am a human with an ego that tends to step in the way from time to time.
This week, the daily lessons that I have been learning and practicing have strung together into a beautiful theme of forgiveness. I have accepted that one of my functions in this world is to be the light for others, but it can get messy when I hold things against people and I refuse to forgive. Therefore, my light is then temporarily dimmed in certain areas and I cannot shine as bright. I have become aware of myself and my thoughts when I do this. My ego wants to separate certain individuals that I feel need to give me an apology first in order for me to forgive them, right? Sure, but what happiness has this way of thinking brought me? I feel justified to be angry at certain people when I label them as doing me wrong. But, then again, what would it look like to let it go? Usually, when I think about letting a resentment go and visualize what I would feel like, thoughts of peace, calm, relief and love come to my mind. If this is so, then why do I do the constant back-and-forth with myself? The more experience I have with these situations, the more I am finding out that it doesn’t really matter and that forgiveness is the key to my happiness. As Louise Hay says, “When I am stuck, there is usually more forgiving that needs to be done.” Real talk.
I have mentioned before that I am a fan of taking baby steps through opportunities, such as these, when they arise and when the awareness is present. Forgiving, or overlooking, the behavior(s) of a person , place or thing that I feel has wronged me does not always come as gracefully as I would like it to …then again, sometimes it does. I have put together some steps that I like to take when I am trying to move into the space of forgiveness that will propel me back to a space of love and happiness:
1: Notice. I notice my thoughts and the lack of forgiveness along with the discomfort that is showing up because of it. I notice the thoughts and the conversation that I’m having with myself. At this point, I do not need to make any decisions. I just need to notice. Keep it simple.
2: Own it. I own my thoughts about the person, place, thing or situation that I am resistant against. When I can own my thoughts about what is going on, then I can shift the energy away from being a powerless victim. As long as I remain resistant or in blame, then I give whatever it is even more power and find myself even more binded to it.
3: Ask for help. I ask the Universe/Spirit/God/Angels/Higher Power to show me how to forgive. I only need a sliver of willingness for miracles to happen. I say simple prayers of gratitude, such as, “Thank you for showing me how to forgive,” “I am scared, but willing to forgive, thank you for showing me what to do,” or “Thank you for guiding me through this and bringing me back to love.”
4: Move. I try to engage in something that will shift my energy and get my mind off of whatever is causing a struggle or discomfort. I go do yoga, call a friend, eat something yummy, watch a movie, take a shower, clean the house, walk my pups, meet up with friends, take a nap, do something creative… Anything to get me out of the space that does not serve others or myself.

You will also need either some oven safe ramekin dishes (12 oz) or one big oven safe dish.

To Prepare:

Crust: Place the flour in a mixing bowl and place in the freezer to chill while the filling is getting prepared. Also, place a fork in the bowl of flour in the freezer.

Filling: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the tofu into 1/3 inch thick cubes. Press a paper towl on the tofu to soak up any excess water.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add the tofu in the skillet and cook until tofu is golden brown. Remove the tofu and set aside. Add the remaining 2 tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet along with the onion, carrot and garlic and sauté until the onion and garlic is translucent. Then, add the potato to the mixture, stirring frequently, until tender. Add the flour, nutritional yeast and sou sauce to the veggie mixture. Then, add the veggie broth and stir everything together until combined. Add in the tofu, peas, corn, sage and thyme and store to combine. Season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat.

Back to the crust: Remove the bowl of flour and fork from freezer. Cut up the butter into smaller cubes or slices and add it to the flour. Using a fork, cut the mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Then, with yours hands, combine the mixture even more so that the flour is absorbed. Gradually, add cold water into the bowl with flour while mixing together with the fork to make dough. Shape the dough into a ball and flatten the ball into a circle. Add the flour to a flour surface. Place the ramekins or dish you will be baking pie in upside down so that you can trace around the top. Trace in the dough around the dish, but make the circle about 1/2 inch wider on all sides.

To assemble:
Add the veggie mixture equally between dishes, if you have more than one you are baking in. Place the dough you cut out over top the dish, covering the veggie mixture. Press the dough to deal it around all the edges. Make the crust thicker on the edges. Crimp the edges with a fork.

Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes (give or take), until golden brown on top.

Hi everyone! Today, I felt called to talk about letting things go. Some things are trickier than others. It depends how much the voice of my ego gets in the way. The past week, I have been wrestling with the … Continue reading →